Frogger

It was a lot of pressure. You had the lives of three tiny frogs in your hands and a busy highway staring you in your face. Not to mention you were on the clock. One wrong move and the little guys were dunzo. We were never sure why these guys INSISTED on crossing that busy road (unlike our friend the chicken who had a multitude of reasons…), we were just given the task of getting them there safely.

Frogger, which made its big debut in 1981, came along in that golden age of video games. Back when a couple bucks in quarters bought you hours of entertainment at the local dark and dingy arcade. Konami had a hit on their hands and it came in the form of amphibians trying to dodge various automobiles and snakes. Of course, we can’t forget the river… which involved you maneuvering the frogs onto logs floating by. You also had the opportunity to hitch a ride on the backs of passing turtles but you had to be careful because sometimes those guys got a little sneaky and went for an underwater swim, which of course landed you in the dead zone. This of course, brings up the obvious question of: Why can’t the frogs just swim across the damn river? We may never know.

It’s doubtful if any young video game player stumbled upon Frogger today would even be remotely impressed. There are no lasers. There are no guns. The graphics are seriously lacking. There’s just you, a joystick, and a frog. But back in 1981? Color us entertained.